Birds of Death
by basscymru
Summary: Cedric's first meeting with the Weasley twins.


The Hogwarts Express sat tall and majestic, chugging gently and glistening red in the watery sunlight. Students and parents filled the station, saying teary farewells and giving affectionate hugs. The air buzzed with excitement and hormones as the train waited patiently for the teenagers to board.

The teenagers had a strange appearance by muggle standards, unaccustomed as muggles were to the habits of witches and wizards. Many wore floor-length robes and tall, pointed hats, and almost all were lugging an old-fashioned trunk behind them, owls balanced precariously on top.

Amongst them was a small boy, his mother wetting his blushing cheeks with kisses.

"You're going to write every week, OK?"

Cedric nodded, rubbing his cheek.

"Of course he will, my little man!" his father cried, thumping him on the back. Cedric stumbled forward a few feet. "Our Ceddy's going to be fine. Follow in your father's footsteps, won't you, son?"

"Sure," he said, staring at his feet and flushing. He turned his eyes up to his mother imploringly. "Can I go now?"

She swept him up into one last smothering hug. "Make us proud," she murmured, setting him down on the ground. Her eyes began to fill with tears. Cedric turned away in embarrassment, only to find his father grinning broadly at him.

"I've arranged for you to sit with the Weasley boys," he announced. Arthur Weasley was a colleague of his father, and his twin sons were to be in Cedric's year, though he had never met them.

If possible, Cedric's humiliation worsened as he was ushered onto the train, his parents carrying his trunk for him, and told to look for the ginger twins.

"I love you." Tears had now slipped down his mother's face.

"Yeah, OK, bye, I'll see you at Christmas." Pulling himself away from his parent's grasp, Cedric only had to wander a few carriages down the train, dragging his trunk behind him, before he came across the carriage holding three ginger children.

"Uh," he said, pulling the door open. "Hello. I'm Cedric. Our dads are friends?"

He was met with a boy who looked thirteen or fourteen, looking distastefully at him over the top of a battered paperback, and a pair of identical grins. "Hello!" said one of the twins. "I'm Fred."

"And I'm George."

"Right," said Cedric, shuffling into the carriage and sitting as far away from the Weasleys as he could manage. Though he hated to admit it, they maybe perhaps frightened him. Just a little bit.

For a while, the twins watched him eagerly, making Cedric quite uncomfortable. However, they were soon distracted by the other boy, who was now enthralled in his book. They tried to discreetly retrieve what looked like folded bits of paper, and muttered a charm. Cedric's eyebrows shot up in to his hairline. These boys should definitely not know any magic yet.

The folded bits of paper flew up into the air, and made a beeline for their brother. "Birds of death!" cackled George – or was it Fred? – and clapped his hands gleefully. The birds of death began to run into the boy's face again and again, his glasses slipping off his nose and his book falling to the floor. He waved his arms around his head. "Fred!" he shouted. "George! Get these off me."

By now, they were both rolling around on their seats laughing. Cedric supposed it might have been funny, had the boy not been in so much obvious distress. He felt helpless, but acting on instinct he said, in the most commanding voice he could manage, "Why don't you let him be?" It came out as a squeak.

The twins stopped laughing instantly, and stared at Cedric. "That's Percy," one of them said, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. Cedric wanted to shrink into his seat, but stood his ground.

"It – it doesn't mean you have to bully him like that." The twins glanced at each other, and Cedric could feel his cheeks warming up.

"Why're you such a wet blanket, anyway?" said the other.

"I'm…" His voice trailed away. "I'm not."

The birds of death had long forgotten their campaign against Percy, but Cedric didn't notice as he was scrutinised by the eleven-year-olds. "What're you even doing here? Can't you make your own friends?" one mocked.

Cedric stood up on trembling legs. He tried to open his mouth, to say something daring and unkind, but he could think of nothing. Tripping over his feet, he almost ran out of the room, leaving the Weasley twins giggling behind him.

A/N: As always, if you review, I will love you forever.


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